As an aside, I think looking at the global fertility rate is not very informative. The only reason that global fertility rates remain above 2 is because of Africa and the Middle East. The people of developed nations are, for the most part, going to gradually go extinct. This is list as of nations by fertility rate. [1] And that list is also an aggregate. Things such as education, modest or secular religious views, and income all work as major factors
against fertility when looking at the composition of what is already, even as an aggregate, below replacement fertility rates.
This paints an interesting picture for the future. This [2] is a study from Pew showing the expected changes in religiosity in the future. Unaffiliated are expected to decrease from 16.4% to 13.2% by 2050, Buddhists down 7.1% to 5.2%., Muslims to increase from 23.2% to 29.7%, and so on. I don't understand why fertility rate is not a bigger consideration for people who consider themselves interested or invested in social progress. Fertility is arguably the biggest factor there is in what this world will look like in the coming years. If helping people to become economically comfortable, secular, and educated leads to them no longer reproducing - you're going to end up taking two steps back for every step forward.
[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_d...
[2] - https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-20...
This paints an interesting picture for the future. This [2] is a study from Pew showing the expected changes in religiosity in the future. Unaffiliated are expected to decrease from 16.4% to 13.2% by 2050, Buddhists down 7.1% to 5.2%., Muslims to increase from 23.2% to 29.7%, and so on. I don't understand why fertility rate is not a bigger consideration for people who consider themselves interested or invested in social progress. Fertility is arguably the biggest factor there is in what this world will look like in the coming years. If helping people to become economically comfortable, secular, and educated leads to them no longer reproducing - you're going to end up taking two steps back for every step forward.
[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_d...
[2] - https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-20...